1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for a personal network service. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a service based on a function component included in electronic devices belonging to a personal network.
2. Description of the Related Art
With an exponential increase in the use of Consumer Electronics (CE) enabling near field communication such as an MP3 player, a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a game machine, a netbook, and the like, users seek a method to conveniently download content.
In general, the user searches for content reproducible in the consumer electronics through an interne by using, for example, a Personal Computer (PC) and then downloads the found content. Subsequently, when the consumer electronics are connected to the PC by using a dedicated cable, the consumer electronics can download the content from the PC. Then, the consumer electronics can reproduce the corresponding content only via such a process. Currently, there is a method by which content can be shared between devices by using a Bluetooth scheme instead of using such a cable.
However, a method by which the consumer electronics directly access a wide area communication network is still extremely limited. For example, some of the consumer electronics can access the wide area communication network only when the consumer electronics can use an interne through Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) in an area in which there is an Access Point (AP). Accordingly, a need for a method is increased to allow a device capable of performing the near filed communication but incapable of directly accessing the wide area communication network, that is, the consumer electronics to access the wide area communication network through a gateway and to use a service such as downloading a content and the like. In light of the need of the method, a Converged Personal Network Service (CPNS) is proposed.
The CPNS refers to a service in which one Personal Network (PN) including a combination of an apparatus playing a role of a gateway and consumer electronics reproducing an actual service and content is configured and then the consumer electronics receive the corresponding service or content by accessing a service/content providing server existing in a wide area communication network through the apparatus playing the role of the gateway.
In such a CPNS, apparatuses configuring the personal network are referred to as network apparatuses, an electronic apparatus playing the role of the gateway among the network apparatuses is referred to as a PN gateway, and an electronic apparatus connected to the PN gateway through near field communication to access the wide area communication network through the PN gateway is referred to as a Personal Network Entity (PNE). Further, the service or content provided by the service/content providing server can be transferred to the corresponding PN gateway (or personal network) by registering and managing the PN gateway, the PNE, and the personal network in the CPNS server.
FIG. 1 illustrates a construction of a Converged Personal Network Service (CPNS) system according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a CPNS system includes a service/content providing server 50, a CPNS server 40, PN gateways 10 and 60, and PNEs 20, 30, and 70.
A first personal network 80 is configured with the first PN gateway 10 as its center, and a second personal network 90 is configured with the second PN gateway 60 as its center. A particular service provided by the service/content providing server 50 or the CPNS server 40 may be provided in the unit of personal networks or in the unit of service groups.
The service group refers to a group including a plurality of network apparatuses among network apparatuses included in the personal network to provide a particular service in the unit of groups. The service group may include only network apparatuses belonging to one personal network or network apparatuses belonging to different personal networks 80 and 90, that is, the second PNE 30 and the third PNE 70 as shown in FIG. 1.
In general, the service group may include network apparatuses, which support the apparatus capability, capable of using the particular service, for example, PNEs in the CPNS and is designed such that a service and a content which each network device can provide in a CPNS environment may be shared and utilized.
As described above, when the related art based on the CPNS is used, it is possible to provide the service only according to the apparatus capability of the network apparatus included in the personal network. In other words, all network apparatuses should have similar apparatus capability in the related art based on the conventional CPNS.
Although the user is playing a particular game alone, the user may desire to play the game by using a plurality of network apparatuses. For example, the user may desire to play and control the game by using a portable terminal such as a smart phone, but receiving a game image and a game sound through a television set. In this case, the television set and the portable terminal can be paired as the service group. However, a particular game service cannot be provided in a form desired by the user through the pairing. Further, it is not possible to reconstruct hardware components included in each apparatus and resources within the apparatus in a form desired by the user.
For example, a hardware component of the smart phone may include a display module, a GPS module, a microphone module, and a mobile communication module, a resource of the smart phone may include an application, content and the like, and a hardware component of the television set may include a display module, a speaker module and the like. One service cannot be provided by combining such a hardware component and such a resource.
Further, a service provider (e.g., the CPNS server 40 or the service/content providing server 50) can recommend or provide only services which can be independently provided to respective network devices of the current personal network, respectively. Accordingly, there is no method to recommend a network device required for configuring a new service according to an analysis of user's behavior and an available service according to the network device.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and an apparatus for providing a service based on a hardware component included in a network device or a resource within the network device in an environment providing a CPNS.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.